Memphis Tennessee Bankruptcy Blog

Should I feel ashamed for filing for bankruptcy?

On behalf of Jimmy McElroy of Jimmy E. McElroy & Associates posted in what bankruptcy can do on Sunday, July 14, 2019.

You may have been putting off speaking to someone about filing for bankruptcy, despite dealing with extremely high financial stress. If so, you are like many other Tennessee residents who are being held back by a pervasive stigma of personal bankruptcy. It may put some of your worries to rest learning that this stigma is largely unnecessary. When a business files for bankruptcy, people see it as a way for the company to restructure its debts and come up with a more effective business plan. Why should it not be the same for individuals?

Fox Business explains that the stigma against personal bankruptcy is encouraged by some credit counseling services, financial advisors and banks that warn people filing for bankruptcy should be a last resort and that it can permanently destroy your chances of getting lines of credit again. These claims are simply not true. In fact, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York states that after a personal bankruptcy, people tend to have access to better lines of credit than those who continue to struggle under their debt.

Tips to positively recover from bankruptcy

On behalf of Jimmy McElroy of Jimmy E. McElroy & Associates posted in chapter 7 bankruptcy on Monday, July 8, 2019.

After a bankruptcy in Tennessee, a person may have mixed emotions. While it feels good to be out of debt and not get frequent and harassing calls from creditors, it may be overwhelming to think about what comes next.

There are numerous reasons people file bankruptcy. For some, a major and unexpected expense, such as medical bills from an accident, causes the need for bankruptcy. For others, however, bankruptcy occurred due to irresponsible spending habits. Now is the time to make changes in spending and begin to rebuild credit again. The following tips can help get people back on their feet faster.

Will you become the next gray bankruptcy statistic?

On behalf of Jimmy McElroy of Jimmy E. McElroy & Associates posted in chapter 7 bankruptcy on Monday, July 1, 2019.

If you are a Tennessee senior facing serious financial difficulties, you are not alone. If you have begun to think about bankruptcy as your only real option, again, you are not alone. In fact, you are part of a new nationwide phenomenon: gray bankruptcy.

The New York Times reports that gray bankruptcy, i.e., bankruptcies filed by people age 65 and older, are on the rise in America. While only 2.1% of 1991 bankruptcies represented your demographic, that number has now risen to 12.2%.

3 secrets debt-relief companies do not want you to know

On behalf of Jimmy McElroy of Jimmy E. McElroy & Associates on Tuesday, June 25, 2019.

When struggling with debt, it is smart to look for a solution. But it is necessary to be cautious about debt-relief companies. Working with a debt-settlement company can leave you in an even worse situation than before.

The only reason debt-relief companies seem attractive is that they are not upfront about the risks and problems with the services they provide. Here are the secrets they hope you never find out.

The pros and cons of Chapter 13 bankruptcy

On behalf of Jimmy McElroy of Jimmy E. McElroy & Associates posted in chapter 13 bankruptcy on Friday, June 21, 2019.

In Tennessee, residents have several different options when it comes to filing for bankruptcy. One popular option is Chapter 13. With all bankruptcy options, there are unique benefits and potential drawbacks. Today, we will take a look at some of both for this specific type.

FindLaw discusses some of the benefits of Chapter 13 bankruptcy first. The first benefit is that it allows a person to avoid foreclosure. Not only that, but they will be able to keep their assets, which isn't the case with Chapter 7 bankruptcy. With Chapter 13, a person may be able to cure delinquent payments on the mortgage over a period of time. Additionally, foreclosure proceedings are stopped as soon as it's filed. Finally, Chapter 13 only remains on a person's credit report for 7 years, compared to 10 years for Chapter 7.

What can bankruptcy’s automatic stay protect you against?

On behalf of Jimmy McElroy of Jimmy E. McElroy & Associates posted in what bankruptcy can do on Tuesday, June 11, 2019.

As a Tennessee resident who is getting hounded by creditors or debt collectors, you may be feeling as if you are at your wit’s end. Receiving seemingly constant communications from creditors can prove anxiety-inducing at best, and you may be wondering whether bankruptcy’s “automatic stay” could potentially grant you some temporary relief.

Just what is bankruptcy’s automatic stay, and how might it help stop creditor harassment? According to LendingTree, the automatic stay is something that takes effect as soon as you begin bankruptcy proceedings, and it essentially bans most creditors from coming after you to collect on debts for a given period. Typically, the automatic stay kicks in as soon as you initiate bankruptcy proceedings, and it can give you relief from certain types of communications for a set amount of time.

Can bankruptcy eliminate all debt?

On behalf of Jimmy McElroy of Jimmy E. McElroy & Associates posted in what bankruptcy can do on Friday, June 7, 2019.

In Tennessee, there are a number of debt relief options available. However, bankruptcy is one of the most official. This process uses the courts, so you would be safe from many of the less scrupulous organizations that may claim to help debtors.

If you are ready to take back control of your financial situation, then you may consider Chapter 13 bankruptcy as a way to pay back your debt while still retaining ownership of your assets. However, you should know that there are some general exceptions to the types of debt that Chapter 13 could handle.

What to know about a Chapter 7 meeting of creditors

On behalf of Jimmy McElroy of Jimmy E. McElroy & Associates on Monday, June 3, 2019.

For many people, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the only way to get their finances back in order. What many people fail to realize before filing is that the oncoming proceedings are a lot more complicated than they expect. For example, many fail to realize there is a meeting of creditors they must attend.

The meeting of creditors is an opportunity for a person's various creditors to attend an appointment to ask the debtor various questions. The creditors want to ensure the debtor understands the magnitude of filing for bankruptcy and ensure he or she has prepared. It is a normal part of the process, and those seeking bankruptcy should prepare themselves accordingly.

When could Chapter 13 help?

On behalf of Jimmy McElroy of Jimmy E. McElroy & Associates posted in chapter 13 bankruptcy on Friday, May 31, 2019.

There is no cut-and-dry situation in which one form of bankruptcy is necessarily better than another. Of course, eligibility is an issue. Tennessee courts offer Chapter 7 to almost any debtor, but Chapter 13 requires some sort of income.

Beyond that, it is probably best to approach your situation based on individual analysis. Here is a brief discussion of two times when you may want to consider Chapter 13 above any other debt option.

You are already on the road to success

On behalf of Jimmy McElroy of Jimmy E. McElroy & Associates posted in chapter 7 bankruptcy on Friday, May 24, 2019.

Before you go any further towards your goals to reduce and manage your debt, you should stop to congratulate yourself. By thinking seriously about bankruptcy or debt consolidation, you have already made a small victory that sets you apart from many Tennessee residents.

It is important to think of debt as a set of manageable challenges rather than a single major problem to solve. At the office of Jimmy E. McElroy and associates, we have seen again and again the power that a positive perspective has on repaying or resolving debts.